Study Faults Calif. on Immigrants

Today, one out of every six public-school students in California is
foreign-born, reports a new study that charges most of the state's
school districts with being "woefully unprepared" to address such
children's educational needs.

The number of immigrant students in the public schools has more than
doubled in the past 10 years and is likely to grow by roughly 7 percent
annually over the next decade, the study notes.

But it found that few districts collect data on these students.

The study was conducted over an 18-month period by California
Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization dedicated to analyzing the economic,
political, and social implications of population changes in the
state.

"Immigrant children are not a fringe element of our student
population--they are a large and increasing core part of our schools
and future society," the report states. "But most academic programs
sadly ignore this reality."

Most school districts, the study says, are "overwhelmed by the
sudden changes in their student populations and [are] scrambling to
develop programs and approaches that might work."

Other districts, according to the report, are "oblivious or
stubbornly refusing to recognize that changes in staffing, curriculum,
and program structure might be in order."

The study, titled "Crossing the Schoolhouse Border: Immigrant
Students and the California Public Schools," describes the social and
educational experiences of these students and how the schools are
re4sponding. It contains a wide range of recommendations for state
policymakers and local school boards and officials.

The report's conclusions are based on interviews with 360 immigrant
students in 33 districts, and nearly 200 teachers, school
administrators, researchers, parents, and community and social-services
advocates.

In addition, the group held two public hearings to complete the
study and conducted a review of existing literature on the topic.

The work was funded by the Walter S. Johnson Foundation and the
Rosenberg Foundation.

Little Data Gathered

The study's authors write that they were "shocked" that so little
information is collected on immigrant students by the state and by
local districts. Most districts, they found, do not know how many
immigrants are enrolled in their schools, where those who are enrolled
are from, or what their academic needs are.

School districts rarely perform a comprehensive assessment of
immigrant children when they register for school, the study found.

Emphasis is placed on the child's age and ability to speak English,
ac8cording to the report, with little consideration given to previous
academic background, literacy in the native language, or the trauma
many immigrant children have suffered as a result of war, extreme
poverty, or being separated from their families.

Roughly 40 percent of the students interviewed for the study said
they believed they were not placed in the right grade level when they
first entered school in this country.

The study also found that the "vast majority" of foreign-born
students in the state are receiving inadequate English-language
instruction, and little, if any, academic support in their native
language.

Most school programs, the report states, "leave immigrant students
to sink or swim virtually on their own."

"The majority appear to be sinking," it concludes.

A critical shortage of certified bilingual teachers and political
disagreements over bilingual education in general, have contributed to
this problem, the authors note.

Incidents of Harassment

But they point out that, in addition to the academic challenges they
face, immigrant students often find themselves the victims of violence,
intimidation, and harassment.

"Almost every student in our sample," the study states, "reported
that the first school year included incidents of being called names,
pushed or spat upon, deliberately tricked, teased, and laughed at
because of their race, language difficulties, accent, or foreign
dress."

A spokesman for Bill Honig, the state's superintendent of public
instruction, said last week that the school chief had been briefed on
the report but needed to study it more carefully before commenting on
its proposals.

"The report raises many legitimate issues and makes some good
recommendations," said Susan Lange, the spokesman. "Clearly, there is a
problem, and we have to deal with that."

Recommendations

Among the report's recommendations are that:

State and local school officials begin gathering data on students by
their place of birth and background.

School districts develop a comprehensive intake and assessment
system, administered by a trained bilingual staff, that determines
students' English-language proficiency, reading and writing ability in
both English and their native language, educational background, and
health status.

In addition, districts should make every effort possible to provide
immigrant students with native-language instruction, taught by a
credentialed bilingual teacher, until they are able to fully
participate in a regular English-language program.

And districts should be sure that any "pull-out" programs are
aligned with the regular curriculum and of equal quality.

Lawmakers launch a state program specifically designed to recruit
and train bilingual teachers. Such a program could include forgiveable
loans and salary bonuses.

Teacher-training institutions and the state's commission of teacher
credentialing require all prospective teachers to take a course in
methods for teaching foreign-born students and those with limited
proficiency in English.

Copies of the report are available for $6 each from California
Tomorrow, Fort Mason, Building B, San Francisco, Calif. 94123.

Web Only

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.